Monday, March 28, 2016

Bernie Sanders presses Hillary to debate him in New York before the primaries. It does not appear that Hillary is interested however.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont challenged Hillary Clinton on Sunday to a debate in New York before the state’s primary on April 19 and expressed concern that Mrs. Clinton might not debate him now that she is far ahead in the race to win the Democratic nomination.

Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Mr. Sanders said he wanted to have a debate in “New York City, upstate, wherever, on the important issues facing New York and, in fact, the country.” The Democrats have held eight debates so far, the last one on March 9 in Miami, and the two campaigns pledged to hold an additional debate in April and another one in May before the final primaries in June.

Asked by Chuck Todd, the host, if he was worried that Mrs. Clinton would not debate him again, Mr. Sanders replied, “Yeah, I do have a little bit of concern about that. But I certainly would like to see a debate in New York State.”

When the New York Times reached out to the Clinton campaign they declined to comment.

Joel Benenson, the campaign's chief strategist, said on CNN Monday morning that Sanders needs to watch his tone, or else the Clinton campaign will pack up its ball and head home. "The real question is, what kind of campaign is Sen. Sanders going to run going forward?," Benenson said when asked about Sanders' request for a New York debate.

"Let's see the tone," Benenson continued when pressed about why Clinton was reluctant to debate. "This is a man who said he'd never run a negative ad, he's now running them, they're planning to run more, let's see the tone of the campaign he wants to run before we get to any other questions."

Benenson added, "Let's see if he goes back to the kind of tone he said he was going to set early on. If he does that, then we'll talk about debates."

I am of two minds on this.

On the one hand it is perfectly understandable that the candidate in the lead feels no need to engage in any further debates. If the Clinton campaign feels good about where they are, and their ability to win primaries moving forward, why rock the boat?

However refusing to debate in the state that Hillary represented in the Senate, makes her seem insecure about her ability to carry it on April 19th. And using the tone of the Sanders campaign as an excuse makes her seem weak and unprepared.

I think we all know that Donald Trump is going to unload with both barrels on the Democratic nominee, and up until now it seemed that Hillary was not only ready for that, but relishing the opportunity to go toe to toe with him.

Besides if her past debate performances are any indication she will come out of this one seeming even more presidential and capable than she did going in.

So yes I think that Hillary should debate Bernie.

And if she isn't going to she sure as hell needs a better reason than she does not like "the tone" of the Sanders campaign.

Sweet Bernie appears to me to be trying to divide the Democratic party. They have already debated numerous times and I see no reason for any more than one - just prior to the elections might be a good idea.

Besides, Bernie's speeches and points are getting old. He needs to put new ideas into them and tell us how he'll accomplish them!

Interesting thing, my partner voted for Bernie in the primary but hopes he doesn't get the nomination. He wanted to help drive the national converstaion to the left, but knows Bernie doesn't stand a chance against the republican attack machine.

Here we go again. UGH. See, this is just like 2008 against President Obama. "Let's see the tone of his campaign; there are negative ads." WTH?

As a woman, I HATE that tone. I am going to vote Democrat regardless of who is the nominee, but negative ads are part of this annoying process and, especially because she IS a woman, why isn't the response, "BRING IT." That response to me was weak, as when she teared up in '08, "campaigning is so hard."

She's been in politics her whole adult life, was a First Lady, Senator, and SOS for pete's sake. Put on your big boy panties and debate the man! Geez.

Bull crap. I supported candidate and President Obama in both elections. For one simple reason - he was a better than Hillary. I do not support Bernie. For the same reason - he is not a better candidate than Hillary. Anger does not get my vote. Tell me HOW you are going to fix things.

negative attacks personally are different then attacks on voting record or how hillary "evolved" when it comes to marriage equality. then there is sanders who has always said pretty much "fuck it if they are happy let them have the same shit others do"

same with civil rights. sanders marched with dr king. where the fuck was hillary?

Hillary Clinton was 15 when Sanders participated in the 1963 March on Washington.

From the above article:

"One Sunday evening in April, 1962, Hillary Rodham and her church youth group attended a speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King at Chicago's Orchestra Hall. Seeing and hearing the civil rights leader had a profound effect on her. She with her group met and talked to King personally after his address, and the event compelled the 14-year-old to volunteer to babysit for migrant workers who could not afford child care."

"Bernie was 23 in 1964. A young civil rights idealist. Hillary canvassed for Goldwater. At 16. But age 20 in 1968, Hillary put on a black armband the day after MLK was assassinated and initiated a civil rights movement at Wellesley College. She led demonstrations and a drive to force the school to recruit more black students."

So, where the fuck was Hillary? Fighting for Civil Rights in the 1960s, just like Bernie Sanders.

@ 5:35 pmI marched with MLK also, 10's of thousands of Americans did and guess what, it doesn't make me qualified to be president.But the better queston is what has Bernie done for minorities since the 60's? The answer is nothing.

Bernie has NOT authored and gotten through any bills to help minorities or women for that matter. There is my proof, his lack of work while he's been collecting his government paycheck for sitting on his white ass.

I'm too tired to look for the article. A reporter interviewed minority organizations; Bernie never reached out to them or attended their events as mayor or Senator. He's a phoney as far as I can tell. When the cameras aren't rolling he's doing what? Does he have any hobbies? Does he participate in any non-profits, help the homeless etc in his free time?

According to an article I read Bernie never reached out or attended minority events as mayor. He's a phoney. Does he help homeless causes, donate to children hospitals- anything- when the cameras AREN'T rolling?

He has also drawn false conclusions/misrepresented her record on occasion--examples include regarding her speaking fees and also the nature of Bill's expressed appreciation for the complement [for her administrative abilities] from former Sec. of State Kissinger.

The debates had already been planned why should she do a special debate just because Sanders wants one. Personally I would rather have them play a game of jeopardy with political questions with them just giving the answers and no speeches just to find out what they know about government and world events.

Sanders just wants to ride the coattails of Hillary's name recognition as usual. Let him get his own fucking media, let him find his own places to wave his arms and yell and spit and get national attention. He never said anything in a debate that he can't say anywhere else, so let him get his own publicity.

As for Hillary being scared or insecure, anyone who would suggest that clearly does not know the lady.

He has turned out to be a nasty piece of work, which answers the question of why he has never made a name for himself and has achieved basically nothing in his very long life- you need to work with other people to do that.

"Nasty piece of work" - this is a fucking re-run of what the Clinton people tried to do to Obama in 2008. I hope it gets her the same thing because the nastiest pieces of work I've seen are on the Clinton side. "Tone" indeed.

@ anon 6:28pmWhy? Why should she do what Bernie demands, she has her own campaign schedule that is already built around the debates. Maybe Bernie would be busier too if he went to states with a high populations of minorities instead of sticking to his white bread states. Bernie needs to get the stick out of his ass and remember that women do not have to answer when he snaps his flailing fingers.

It's not a demand. It's a challenge. No different from the many challenges thrown down over numerous elections across the years. Except for one thing. Now that Drumpf sit the precedence for refusing the challenge and still be held high on his pedestal Hillary is following.

Today, Hillary made a very good speech in Madison, Wisconsin. Very presidential. She also urged everyone in attendance to work for the election of Russ Feingold in his bid to return to the US Senate. That is what a true Democrat does on the stump: support down ticket Democrats. She also emphasized the importance of the SCOTUS and that the next president may have up to three justices to replace in the next term. She also called out the GOP intransigence regarding Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court.

Has Bernie ever expressed support for any Democrats? Yet he is running on the Democratic ticket. I'm not a fan of that. If he really believes that he is a true Independent, he would have run as an independent, not on the coattails of the Democratic Party.

Oh, this is kind of what I was trying to say down thread. If Sanders wants to be a party leader, he has to be an integral part of the party in the first place. He's not now, but I guess he could be. He really doesn't seem to get what the campaign includes;in that way, he's a lot like WTLASB.

I hadn't heard that Russ was running again. He was a great leader for the state of Wisconsin, he and Paul Wellstone authored the bill that gave us FMLA ( Family Medical Leave Act) which has helped 100's f thousands of American workers take care of their families without the threat of losing their jobs.

Mr. Sanders said he wanted to have a debate in “New York City, upstate, wherever, on the important issues facing New York and, in fact, the country.--------In other words he wants to yell about Wall Street and Hillary's speeches to Wall St. and how he is against Wall St. and he wants the transcripts of her speeches on Wall St. blah blah blah Wall St.

I would think that they have discussed all the issues at this point, it gets stale after a certain point.

Personally, Bernie is getting on my nerves and I am sick of his slogans-free college, Wall St is bad and political revolution (it is like he is reliving the 60's when he was doing nothing).

He has also thrown Hillary under the bus more than a few times, then denies it.

Bernie has a pension from the government (Mr. Career politician) and great benefits, he doesn't need to invest in Wall St for retirement.

I, on the other hand, have to depend on myself for my pension and Wall St. is allowing me to do that.

Man!! This primary season is getting nasty! We're all on the same side, right? We all have to get along in order to stop the Republicans and pull out a Democratic win, right? Why so mean about both of the candidates? Save the vitriol for the Trumps, Cruzes, and Kasiches.

Sanders isn't asking for more debates, he's asking to schedule the April and May debates they agreed to that aren't yet scheduled and asking for the April one to be held in Brooklyn. Clinton's trying to get out of doing the debates she agreed to.

I could have sworn that that was Hillary dragging herself from a DNC event to the Fox town hall, just because the lazy old coot with nothing better to do insisted on having one on the spur of the moment. There are only so many times he can pull that one. I don't want to see Hillary wearing herself out for someone like Bernie Sanders, who spits in the face of anyone he doesn't like.

This is a no-win for Clinton. She'll look like a chicken shit, arrogant, entitled and she'll be handing Sanders a big free unforced error gift if she refuses to debate him again: "I've won 14 states and now she's afraid to debate me."

Susan Sarandon is feeling the Bern. She said that she didn't think that she could bring herself to vote for the Democratic nominee if it isn't Bernie. I may have misunderstood her to say that Trump might be preferable to Hillary. She was on Chris Hayes. Dan Savage was then interviewed and he said, without being prompted by Hayes, that he WILL vote for the Democratic nominee because he or she will be preferable to anyone who the Republicans might offer up. It's 2008 all over again. Hurt feelings if the "correct" candidate doesn't receive the most votes.

Susan Sarandon has long been famous for being nutso but in the past I gave her obviously unwarranted credit for a little intelligence simply because Tim Robbins liked her so much. He doesn't like her so much any more.

If Bernie Sanders wants to play at being the Democratic candidate, then he has to play with the party's managers, like it or not. When he is ready to play with the party, then the Clinton campaign might have something to discuss with him. Personally, I think he's been great for the campaign in general. But he has to be an important part of the party before he can step up to be the party leader.

Bernie is a loser who is doing nothing for this campaign except using the Democratic party to make HIS run easier, nothing but an angry old loser with no ethics. His ethics he threw away to crawl to the DNC and beg to run under their umbrella and now like a pouty child is mad when he isn't getting enough free stuff.

Yeah you be that way, 11:24. You trash the woman who has spent her life serving the people. You think she's doing this for a lark? She has been around the world and back, and back again. She KNOWS how things work. She knows how to write a law and get it passed. She knows how DC works. What has Bernie done in 30 years? He talks a good game, and has done very little except change parties and wives and opinions. He's got swell ideas, but they cost a LOT of money, and we will be paying for them, should he ever get them into law (he won't.) You may despise the success of the Clintons, but the GOP will take this country down. Your choice.

Fuck Bernie. He's a beggar and a socialist. You ready for the government to own everything? 'Cause I'm not. I'm a Democrat, but I'm not an idiot. Hillary is the only qualified one running. And she is entitled because of her qualifications.GeorgiaPeach

Read the letter the Sanders campaign sent out on this. It had the nastiest, rudest tone to it. Who gave Bernie to power to dictate debates? Does he have to insult her in the process?I don't blame her. He's an angry old man who knows he's losing. And now, he wants the DNC to pay him $75k for locking him out of the data -- after his staff copied HRC's voter files. I'm sure democrats everywhere will be furious to know that money that should be going to elect good candidates will go into the Sander's campaign's pockets.I guess Ted Devine's $800,000 compensation for last month wasn't enough.

I'm all for more debates. On both sides. Not everyone pays close attention to every political development like we do. Many people are just starting to take the election seriously and pay attention, and many aren't yet but will be. And many of the states that have been paying attention are, of course, the ones that have completed their caucuses and primaries or will be this week and next. We can't assume that everyone has enough info right now. Otherwise, what the hell--let's make tomorrow election day. Plus, things change every day. The world is constantly experiencing things that the candidates should process and weigh in on--and we should hear their thoughts. I just don't get it when someone says no more debating. To me, it's as important to have debates now as it has been over the past months, and it will continue to be for months to come.

We KNOW what the GOP is going to do. Bernie is supposed to be on the same side. He promised to run positive campaign, and now he is reneging. THAT is what is upsetting. His handlers have decided they need to trash Hillary. They need to stop.

Wow not once have I said FUCK HRC. Have you considered that as her supporter maybe you should represent in a less caustic way? He is a good and caring public servant. Save your venom for someone more deserving. Jeez

... Sanders aides argued that Sanders can make up that gap by June and win the nomination by persuading the superdelegates that Sanders is the stronger candidate. Neither candidate will win with pledged delegates alone, senior adviser Tad Devine predicted.

Sander campaign manager Jeff Weaver said that Sanders has a "substantial" number of superdelegates up his sleeve, but that they aren't ready to go public yet. " ...

Read more athttp://theweek.com/speedreads/615340/bernie-sanders-unveils-plan-beat-hillary-clinton-delegate-chase

What's he going to say? They need to keep he money rolling in from those 'small donors.' What happens when those people are tapped out? He can have a million small donors, but they are capped at $2500, right? That is not enough money to counter the Koch billions that will be spent to trash him in the public's eyes. He'll be labeled Communist before he can blink, and how will he fight that? The public is stupid, as we are seeing. Cash will win this race. "Up his sleeves?" Great. How about he sticks to making his case instead of trashing his opponent, as he pledged to do? How about his followers also stop doing the GOP's dirty work for it by trashing Clinton? How about every lets this play out, and may the best candidate win the nomination and the White House?

Internet:Back to bad news for Sanders supporters: Clinton begins with a far larger superdelegate lead over Sanders than she ever had over Obama. It’s easy to imagine why they might resist switching, furthermore. Unlike Obama, who was perhaps roughly as “electable” as Clinton, Sanders is a 74-year-old self-described socialist. Unlike Obama, who had the chance to become the first black president, Sanders is another old white guy (although he would be the first Jewish president). Sanders wasn’t even officially a Democrat until last year.

Sanders cut Clinton's pledged delegate lead by 30% last week. The nasty posts here about Sanders simply show Clinton supporters are as pee-their-pants afraid of Bernie winning as she is. She's closing down at a time when he's gaining steam as well as media attention. She's afraid to debate him again. In the last two weeks her only speeches have been to small groups of invited guests and bundlers who can cough up $353,400. Meanwhile Bernie's speeches draw tens of thousands to large arenas - and little birds, too - and he rakes in the dough $27 at a time. The "we'll debate him if he changes his tone" quote is going to bite her in the butt.

Self-serving socialist Bernie Sanders keeps switching parties. Reminds me of NBA basketball players switching teams every couple of years until they get on a team that will take them to the NBA Finals and Championship.

This isn't a nasty comment at all. It's true! Bernie is hugely popular in the NW. I believe Hillary thought it wouldn't be any work at all to swoop in and grab everything. Her team may be quite surprised to face reality.

Well a LOT of us don't like your "tone" about anything little Miss Hillary. Which ridiculous accent are you using this week honey? She's a bought off coward and that's saying it nicely. I know you have some sort of crush on her Gryph but she simply isn't worth it. She's a phony, she's a fraud, she's completely owned by the uber rich and that's saying it all nicely.

Bernie CONSISTENTLY polls much better than she does against ANY R candidate. Why don't you ever bring that up Mr. I'm so smitten I can't see the forest for the trees? Even your own state which you mock constantly is smarter than you. Grow up dude

Chill out, bro. Those polls are virtually meaningless at this point. Bernie may be enjoying decent poll numbers against Republicans, (or not, I've seen so many fake statistics from BernieBros who refuse to #feelthemath), but he is not facing any attacks right now. Hillary is focusing on the big picture, and the GOP is too busy eating its own and would prefer to face Bernie anyway. I don't know what they have on him, but I can already imagine the panic ads from Karl Rove et al. OMG Socialist! Attacks on Wall Street means your 401K you've contributed to for years will be worthless! Career politician, living off government pay checks his whole life! Rape fantasies! Weak on defense! I don't like Bernie, but I'll vote for him over any of the current GOP fools if he's the nominee. But it's absolutely foolish to think that there aren't many attack ads waiting in the wings if Bernie somehow wins. Many, many people would be manipulated by those ads and be highly motivated by fear to vote for Bernie's opponent.

About Me

This blog is dedicated to finding the truth, exposing the lies, and holding our politicians and leaders accountable when they fall far short of the promises that they have made to both my fellow Alaskans and the American people.